County claims death was result of biker's negligence

Sat September 02 2006
Posted Sep 2, 2006
10,897

Tom McMahon, Staff Writer 09/02/2006 DENISON - Crawford County said Kirk Ullrich's negligence was the sole cause of, or at least contributed to, his July 25, 2004, RAGBRAI bicycle accident. In court papers filed Wednesday, the county's attorney, G. Daniel Gildemeister, said the county should not be held liable for Ullrich's injuries and subsequent death. Ullrich fell after his bike hit a road crack on County Road E-16 west of Schleswig during the race across Iowa. He died the following day. His widow, Betty Jo Ullrich, is suing the county, alleging it failed to properly design the road, failed to notify riders of the danger, failed to supervise the race in a safe manner and failed to notify Ullrich and others of the road crack after others had fallen off their bikes in the same area. Gildemeister also indicated the county is entitled to invoke governmental immunity from the lawsuit and that Betty Ullrich's claims are barred by the terms of a written waiver of liability signed by her husband prior to participating in RAGBRAI. The county's filing followed a recent ruling that denied its request to dismiss the suit. The suit seeks unspecified damages. A trial date has not been set.